Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Truly Fallen!
Chapter 104: Truly Fallen!
Anzhi's coach wanted to catch Udinese off guard by ordering his team to attack fiercely from the start of the match. As a result, Anzhi was very aggressive, pushing their formation forward significantly. Their defensive midfielder, Amedov, even pressed up to the edge of Udinese's penalty area.
But Amedov's charge missed its mark, leaving a gaping hole in Anzhi's half of the field. "Amedov charged too fiercely, causing a disconnect in Anzhi's midfield and defense!" exclaimed the commentator from Italian Sky TV.
This was exactly the counterattack opportunity that Guidolin had emphasized before the game. Danilo wasted no time, quickly passing the ball back to Basta, who controlled it, turned around, and immediately sent a long ball to Bruno, who was already sprinting forward.
Udinese on the counterattack!
Bruno skillfully trapped the ball. At this moment, he faced only three Anzhi defenders. On his right, Mahrez was speeding up, followed by Kanselo, who had sprinted forward after the interception. On the left, Maksuel was also making a run, and Dina Tale was positioning himself up front.
Suddenly, Udinese had a five-on-three situation in the attack.
Bruno quickly passed the ball forward to Dina Tale, who didn't let the ball settle, instead knocking it back. Bruno, following up, played the ball wide to Mahrez.
Mahrez drove the ball forward at high speed. Anzhi's left-back Yeshurun, having joined the attack earlier, was now desperately trying to track back.
The thirty-year-old veteran was visibly struggling with fatigue from his earlier exertions.
Mahrez cut inside toward the penalty area!
Anzhi's central defenders, initially focused on stopping Bruno and Dina Tale through the middle, were caught off guard by the quick passes that moved the ball to the right flank.
At that moment, Anzhi's central defender Gliay could only rush toward Mahrez in desperation.
Mahrez showed no signs of slowing down.
Gliay, determined not to be outdone, went to ground with a sliding tackle.
Mahrez leapt over the tackle! "Kid, you're still green!" Gliay thought smugly, only to be shocked to find he hadn't touched the ball.
"Beautiful!" shouted the commentator from the local Udinese station.
As Mahrez approached the defender, he deftly poked the ball to the sideline, jumping to avoid the tackle.
João Kanselo! What speed!"
Kanselo, the twenty-year-old Portuguese right-back, received the ball and pushed it forward, then accelerated, making a sharp cut into the penalty area.
Anzhi's defense was in tatters, torn apart by the seamless cooperation between Mahrez and Kanselo, and the latter's swift and decisive cut inside had almost caught the defenders off guard by the time he entered the penalty area.
Kanselo feinted to shoot, fooling the desperately sliding Anzhi midfielder, then coolly pulled the ball back. As the defender slid past, out of bounds, he calmly passed it across the goal.
At the front post, Dina Tale, battling with Anzhi's central defender Gazibekov, pivoted and fired a shot!
Anzhi's goalkeeper Kzakov leapt to make the save, deflecting the ball toward the right side of the goal.
A blue figure rushed in; it was Maksuel, the young Brazilian winger. He managed to sweep the ball across the goal before it went out of bounds.
"Bruno Fernandes! He's unmarked...open goal! He shoots..."
Facing the vast open goal, Bruno simply struck the ball, sending it flying directly towards the net. Kzakov, who had just made the save and was still on the ground, had no chance of stopping this shot. He could only lift his head and watch despairingly as the ball flew into the net.
"GOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!" the local Udinese TV commentator jumped up from his seat, "What a counterattack! Speed! Udinese shows us their pace! A brilliant goal! Udinese takes the lead!!"
"Bruno Fernandes! Udinese's number 18 scores! Just two days ago, some bored folks wrongly claimed that Bruno has fallen! Just now, the 'fallen' Bruno scored again! This is his 22nd goal of the season for Udinese! If this is 'fallen', then please give me ten more like him!"
In the stands at the Friuli Stadium, Udinese fans stood up, cheering, shouting, jumping around, and clapping, celebrating their team's early lead in the match.
"So fast!" the commentator from Italian Sky TV marveled, "From intercepting in their own half to scoring, Udinese used speed to completely rip open Anzhi's defense. Almost all their passes were one-touch, letting Udinese show what counterattacking speed really is!"
After the goal, Bruno didn't just celebrate on his own; he ran towards the fans, gesturing for Mahrez, Kanselo, Dina Tale, and Maksuel, his teammates, to come over and join the celebration.
Previously slandered in the newspaper as 'fallen,' Bruno hadn't responded verbally, but he had held onto that insult, deciding to respond on the pitch instead.
Unlucky Anzhi had become the first victim of Bruno's response.
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